One of the most important tasks you can do in growing plants in your greenhouse is to make sure it is clean and free of pest and disease before you start. The greenhouse is a fantastic place for disease spores and pest eggs such as aphids to overwinter ready to pounce on your new crop of young plants in the spring.
The pests and diseases hideaway in the cracks and crannies between the grass and the grazing bars, down the side of water butts and just about anywhere they think themselves to be in a safe haven.
In cleaning your greenhouse first we need to remove any plant growth leftover from last year and dispose of it in your rubbish bin rather than composing it as a lot of the pest eggs and particularly the disease spores can last for up to 5 years in a dormant state ready to activate and attack your crops. Next using general disinfectant such as jeyes fluid give everything a good wash with a hard scrubbing brush washing pots, seed trays, trellis tables, windows glazing bars and even the path paving to getting your greenhouse pest and disease free. Next once the greenhouse is dry you can use a sulphur smoke bomb or sulphur candle which comes in a small tin can and is used similar to a candle and fills the greenhouse with sulphur smoke which hopefully kills off any remaining pest and disease left after washing.
Cleaning the greenhouse in winter is one of those jobs nobody really wants to do on a cold wet day but it’s a job at certain to pay dividends later on in the summer as it will greatly reduced the person disease attacks to your plants
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